PHOTO CAPTION: “Anthony Moreno appears in 2nd Circuit Court with Deputy Public Defender Danielle Sears in February 2020. Moreno, who was accused of murdering 38-year-old Kimberly Belluomini on Maui more than 20 years ago, was released from jail on Friday due to pre-indictment delay, his attorney Matthew Nardi said.” Former Maui resident Steven Bruner said it was like a “punch in the chest” when he heard Friday that the case against his mom’s alleged killer had been dismissed.
GIST: “It silenced me. It was like an instant … punch in the chest,” Bruner said Monday afternoon.
The 40-year-old Colorado resident and 2001 Maui High graduate was 17 years old when his mom, 38-year-old Kimberly Belluomini, was found dead in her second-floor apartment at Southpointe in Kihei on Oct. 27, 2000.
Bruner, who said that the case has caused turmoil in the family for years, was on Maui Monday as trial was supposed to get underway for 62-year-old Anthony Moreno, who was charged with the second-degree murder of Belluomini.
But instead, Moreno was a free man after spending more than three years in prison after being indicted in December 2019.
Moreno was released from Maui Community Correctional Center Friday evening after 2nd Circuit Court Judge Kirstin Hamman granted a motion to dismiss the case that afternoon due to pre-indictment delay, said Matthew Nardi, Moreno’s attorney, on Monday.
Nardi said the judge agreed that all of the evidence the prosecution had was the same evidence they had back in 2001, and that the case would have been prejudiced because it took so long and witnesses had either died or their memories had lapsed.
Nardi said at least five witnesses he wanted to take the stand had died. He said not having the witnesses would substantially hurt his case in proving Moreno was innocent.
The case was dismissed with prejudice, Nardi said, which means the same claim cannot be refiled again in that court.
Nardi said that after Hamman issued her decision, Moreno “was overcome with emotion and broke down” in the courtroom.
He said Moreno’s head went down on the table and he was crying inconsolably.
The case can be appealed, Nardi confirmed.
Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin said in an email on Monday: “Our primary focus right now is with the victim’s family. As you might imagine, they’re devastated, and we are devastated for them. All they wanted in this case was justice, and we are heartbroken that we are unable to pursue that outcome for them.”
Martin said that over the next several weeks, they will be evaluating their options on appeal.
“That will include a review of the issues and the record with our appeals team. Most importantly, we’ll be meeting with the victim’s family in order to discuss the appellate process with them, and to receive additional input from them,” Martin said.
Bruner also noted that they will meet with prosecutors and said his family will appeal the case.
“It tore my heart apart,” he said of the decision. “(But) I believe one day justice will be served, it just takes patience and going with the law.”
He added that he and his uncle spoke and promised they would do everything they could for the rest of their lives to ensure justice is served.
Belluomini was found naked under a comforter and pillows with her dress and underwear torn from her body and two large lacerations to her head, according to a declaration filed in court more than two years ago.
During an autopsy that ruled her death a homicide, vaginal swabs were collected from the victim, according to the declaration.
In 2019 police submitted the swabs to the Scientific Investigative Section of the Honolulu Police Department to be examined for the possible presence of male DNA.
According to findings in a report by the section, screening of the swabs indicated the presence of semen, and a partial DNA profile of an unidentified male was obtained from one sample.
Later, it was found that the DNA profile matched Moreno.
In a declaration more than two years ago, Moreno’s attorney at the time said the defendant had told police he met with Belluomini the night of Oct. 26, 2000 at Henry’s Bar & Grill in Kihei. He told investigators that he and Belluomini drank alcohol and danced before sharing a taxi to her residence.
Moreno told police he was with Belluomini in her apartment the night she was murdered but denied being responsible for her murder.
Nardi had argued many times in Moreno’s hearings about how the late Maui Police Lt. Glenn Cuomo wrote in a police memo that in May 2001 he contacted Dr. Michael Baden, “a renowned forensic pathologist” associated with the New York State Police Crime Lab, about the case.
Cuomo said he was concerned that a brain injury Belluomini suffered was on the opposite side of the external skull injury.
He wrote that Baden said the brain injury is much more consistent with a fall than an object striking the head.
Baden said that death would result from brain swelling and probably occur about two hours or more after the injury. Cuomo wrote that Baden believed the manner of death was undetermined based on the material he reviewed, which was the autopsy report and case photographs and files.
Cuomo also wrote that Dr. Henry Lee, a criminologist who had been on Maui for a seminar in May 2001, also reviewed case photos and spoke to Baden by phone about the case.
Lee had said that based upon the crime scene photographs, it appears the injuries were not sustained in the apartment, Cuomo wrote.
Both Lee and Baden worked on the O.J. Simpson murder trial case. They were hired by the defense in that case.
Nardi said he wanted to ask Cuomo why he “felt the need to seek an outside opinion” on Belluomini’s death.
He added that he also wanted to question the late Dr. Anthony Manoukian, the Maui County coroner’s physician at the time.
Nardi said there were also issues with the swabs from Belluomini that contained the DNA — he says the swabs went missing and then were found around 2016 as the old morgue was closing down on Maui.
In December 2019, Moreno was arrested in Florida after a Maui grand jury returned an indictment against him for Belluomini’s murder. Moreno had left Maui after 2005, living in Texas before he was located living on a boat in Florida, according to police.
At the time of Moreno’s arrest, police had said that they had begun looking into elluomini’s “cold case” after it was brought to a detective’s attention years after the incident.
Police had said some evidence was sent out to be tested and there were follow-up interviews, reviews of evidence and then the case was presented to prosecutors.
Martin said MPD first brought the case to his attention in 2018, when he was a deputy prosecutor.
“We felt strongly that we could pursue justice on behalf of Kim and her family,” Martin said, noting prosecutors and police proceeded to get in indictment.
“We did so believing strongly that we could prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt at trial,” he added.
But, as the judge stated, Martin said the evidence received in 2018 was all available in 2001, except for the fact that police and prosecutors did more with the evidence, such as testing items for possible DNA profiles.
“By this time, unfortunately, the passage of time had created memory issues with several witnesses, and five witnesses had passed away. This includes the forensic pathologist who collected swabs during autopsy, but then stored them in a manner that created certain evidence issues for us,” Martin added.
He also said that as the defense argued, Cuomo’s passing prevented them from asking him why he sought the opinions of outside experts.
“We argued that this was irrelevant as the location of the body, the physical evidence, and the scene all led to the conclusion that the victim was murdered,” Martin said.
He added that the prosecution’s forensic pathologist would have testified that the locations of two lacerations on Belluomini’s head were not consistent with a fall or accident. He said that all blood evidence at the scene was on the bed.
The Maui Police Department declined to comment on Monday.
Meanwhile, for Belluomini’s family, the pain still remains.
“It’s been one of the hardest things in my life,” Bruner said. “Especially not knowing the true story for 23 years.”
“We weren’t told much (by authorities), kind of felt like we were pushed to the side. And no effort it seems. And it tore our family apart,” he added.
Bruner said his stepbrother, who is younger than him but was living on the Mainland when Belluomini died, took his mother’s death hard.
Her death also had a big impact on Bruner, as he had wanted to be an attorney, but the circumstances “crashed” a lot his life goals. He is now a manager for a restaurant and bar in Colorado.
Bruner said that without any closure “it was killing our family” and led to arguments.
Family and friends have said they have reason to believed that Belluomini may have been drugged.
Bruner continues to remember his mother as the “most down-to-Earth person” who was liked by many, as shown by the 600 people who showed up at her funeral on Maui.
“My uncle, my aunt, me, my grandma are all looking for closure,” he said. “This is a hard thing. She was my best friend.”
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
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